1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk apparatus in which a disk is transferred to a rotating section by a transfer mechanism, and more particularly, to a disk apparatus in which a disk can be reliably clamped in a rotating section.
2. Description of the Related Art
Car-mounted disk apparatuses and the like adopt so-called slot-in loading, in which a disk inserted from a loading slot of the apparatus is pulled into the apparatus and transferred to a rotating section by a transfer mechanism.
In the disk apparatuses having a stopper, however, since the peripheral edge of the transferred disk necessarily abuts the stopper, it is scratched easily. Moreover, the stopper must recede so as not to touch the peripheral edge of the rotating disk after the center hole of the disk is clamped by the rotating section. This complicates the inner structure of the apparatus.
In a disk apparatus in which both a large-diameter disk having a diameter of 12 cm and a small-diameter disk having a diameter of 8 cm can be loaded, the stopper must be selectively moved to one position to position the small-diameter disk relative to the driving section and another position to position the large-diameter disk relative to the driving section. This also complicates the inner structure of the apparatus.
In another type of disk apparatus, a disk inserted from a loading slot passes through a rotating section and is stored in a stock section provided behind the rotating section. When a stopper for positioning the disk relative to the rotating section is provided in such a disk apparatus, it is placed on the transfer path for the disk, and therefore, a mechanism for causing the stopper to recede from the transfer path is needed.
A further type of disk apparatus is possible which utilizes an optical sensor or a mechanical switch for detecting that the center hole of a carried disk is aligned with the center of rotation of a rotating section without using the stopper, and in which a transfer mechanism is stopped in response to the operation of the optical sensor or the mechanical switch. However, when the optical sensor is used, the cost of the apparatus is increased, and incorrect operation may be caused by a transparent portion of the disk or external light. Furthermore, since the diameter varies among disks, it is considerably difficult for the optical sensor or the mechanical switch to precisely detect that the center hole of the disk is aligned with the rotating section.